Wafer transport method

ABSTRACT

A wafer transport method including the steps of preparing a semiconductor process equipment having a transport chamber, a process chamber, an interface means for connecting the transport chamber to the process chamber, and a transport means for transporting a semiconductor wafer from the transport chamber to the process chamber by way of the interface means; inserting the transport means mounting a substrate in a communicating corridor including a supply means and an exhaust means; and transporting the substrate while performing the supply and exhaust by sequentially controlling a supply shutoff means, an exhaust shutoff means, and a communicating shutoff means according to the position of a conductance part formed of a gap between the transport means and the communicating corridor. With this method, the substrate is transported at a high throughput without the contamination on the substrate while keeping the different atmospheric conditions of the transport chamber and the process chamber, thereby manufacturing a semiconductor device with a high performance.

This is a continuation application of U.S. Ser. No. 08/308,442, fileSep. 19, 1994.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a wafer transport method, andparticularly to a wafer transport method which is used in asemiconductor process equipment having a process chamber and a transportchamber.

A through process equipment for semiconductor devices has been known,for example in Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. HeI 4-63414,wherein a plurality of process chambers for cleaning, deposition,etching, exposure of latent image are disposed around a transportchamber for preventing the contamination of a wafer surface therebyimproving the performance of a semiconductor device. A means oftransporting a substrate between different atmospheres has been alsodescribed in Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. SHO 62-147726,wherein a substrate is transported by moving a holder mounting thesubstrate by way of a communicating corridor, a prior exhaust chamber,and the communicating corridor.

Of the above-described prior arts, the through process equipmentrequires the operations of partitioning each process chamber from atransport chamber by means of a gate valve, and adjusting an atmosphericpressure in each process chamber and opening/closing the gate valveconnected to the transport chamber for each wafer transport, therebycausing a disadvantage in lowering the throughput. The method oftransporting a substrate while keeping the conditions of the processchambers with different atmospheres is disadvantageous in that anatmospheric gas flows in the prior exhaust chamber from each processchamber and a transport chamber by way of a gap formed between thecommunicating corridor and the holder, thereby contaminating a substratemounted on the holder.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been made for improving the above-describedproblems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a wafertransport method with a high throughput which is capable of transportinga substrate between a transport chamber and a process chamber which lavedifferent atmospheres while keeping the different atmospheric conditionsof both the chambers for reducing the contamination of the substrate.

The above object can be achieved, according to the present invention, byprovision of a wafer transport method including the steps of:

preparing a semiconductor process equipment, the equipment including aprocess chamber, a transport chamber for transporting a semiconductorwafer to the process chamber, an interface means disposed between theprocess chamber and the transport chamber, and a transport means fortransporting the wafer from the transport chamber to the process chamberby way of the interface means, wherein the interface means is providedwith a communicating corridor capable of inserting and pushing thetransport means from the side of the transport chamber for allowing thetransport means to penetrate into the process chamber;

inserting the transport means mounting the wafer into the communicatingcorridor, and when the leading edge of the transport means is positionedin front of the opening of a first supply means connected to thecommunicating corridor, starting the supply of a first gas from thefirst supply means into the communicating corridor;

increasing the insertion amount of the transport means in thecommunicating corridor, and when the leading edge of the transport meanspasses through the opening of the first supply means, starting theexhaust of the gas in the communicating corridor by an exhaust meansconnected to the communicating corridor while continuing the supply ofthe first gas;

further increasing the insertion amount of the transport means in thecommunicating corridor, and when the leading edge of the transport meanspasses through the opening of the exhaust means, starting the supply ofa second gas from a second supply means connected to the communicatingcorridor into the communicating corridor while continuing the supply ofthe first gas and also continuing the exhaust by the exhaust means;

further increasing the insertion amount of the transport means into thecommunicating corridor, and when the leading edge of the transport meanspasses through the opening of the second supply means, opening the spacebetween the communicating corridor and the process chamber which isshut-off by a shutoff means while continuing the supply of the first andsecond gases and also continuing the exhaust by the exhaust means; and

further increasing the insertion amount of the transport means into thecommunicating corridor, thereby transporting the wafer into the processchamber.

The process chamber is preferably perform at least one surface treatmentselected from a group consisting of an etching process, a cleaningprocess, an ashing process, a thin film deposition process, alithography process, an electron beam lithography process and a surfacemeasurement process. Preferably, the transport means has a bar-likeshape, and the sectional shape of the transport means at its portioninserted in the communicating corridor is substantially analogous to thesectional shape of the communicating corridor. A gap between thecommunicating corridor and the transport means inserted in thecommunicating corridor is preferably kept to be small, so that the gapforms a small conductance part. For example, by setting the gap formedbetween the wall surface of the communicating corridor and the wallsurface of the transport means at a finite value of 100 μm or less, thesmall conductance part can be formed. Moreover, a stage of wafer may beprovided at a front portion of the transport means.

Preferably, the first gas is the same in quality or kind as the gas inthe transport chamber and the gas pressure of the first gas is higherthan that of the gas in the transport chamber; and the second gas is thesame in quality or kind as time gas in the process chamber, and the gaspressure of the second gas is higher than that of the gas in the processchamber. Moreover, the pressure in the process chamber is higher orlower than that in the transport chamber.

In this semiconductor process equipment, there may be provided aplurality of process chambers and a plurality of interface means for onetransport chamber. In this case, each interface means may be providedbetween the transport chamber and each process chamber.

The above wafer transport method may further includes the steps of:

mounting the wafer from a stage means in the process chamber onto thetransport means which is inserted in the communicating corridor and isintroduced at the leading edge in the process chamber;

retreating the transport means, and when the end portion of thetransport means is retreated behind the position of the shutoff means,shutting-off the space between the communicating corridor and theprocess chamber by the shutoff means;

further retreating the transport means, and when the end portion of thetransport is retreated behind the position of the second supply means,stopping the supply of the second gas from the second supply means; and

further retreating the transport means, and when the end portion of thetransport means is retreated behind the position of the first supplymeans, stopping the supply of the first gas from the first supply means.

The above object can be also achieved, according to the presentinvention, by provision of a wafer transport method including the stepsof:

preparing a semiconductor process equipment, the equipment including aprocess chamber for applying a surface treatment to a semiconductorwafer, a transport chamber for transporting the wafer to the processchamber, an interface means disposed between the process chamber and thetransport chamber, and a transport means for transporting the wafer fromthe transport chamber to the process chamber by way of the interfacemeans,

wherein the transport means has a stage of wafer at the front portionthereof, the interface means is provided with a communicating corridorhaving the sectional shape being substantially analogous to that of thetransport means so that the wafer can be transported in the processchamber by inserting and pushing the transport means mounting the waferfrom the side of the transport chamber, a gap between the communicatingcorridor and the transport means inserted in the communicating corridoris kept to be small so that it forms a small conductance part, a firstsupply means is connected to the communicating corridor on the side nearthe transport chamber, a second supply means is connected to thecommunicating corridor on the side near the process chamber, an exhaustmeans connected to the communicating corridor is provided between thefirst supply means and the second supply means, and a shutoff means forshut-off of the communicating corridor is provided in the communicatingcorridor near the end portion thereof on the side of the processchamber;

shutting-off the communicating corridor by the shutoff means, andinserting the transport means mounting time wafer from the side of thetransport chamber in such a state that time supply of gases from thefirst and second supply means is stopped and the exhaust function of theexhaust means is stopped;

increasing the insertion amount of the transport means in thecommunicating corridor, and when the leading edge of the transport meansis positioned in front of the opening of the first supply means,starting the supply of a first gas being the same in quality or kind asthe gas in the transport chamber to the communicating corridor from thefirst supply means;

further increasing the insertion amount of the transport means in thecommunicating corridor, and when the leading edge of the transport meanspasses through the opening of the first supply means, starting theexhaust in the communicating corridor by the exhaust means whilecontinuing the supply of the first gas;

further increasing the insertion amount of the transport means in thecommunicating corridor, and when the leading edge of the transport meanspasses through the opening of the exhaust means, starting the supply ofa second gas being the same in quality or kind as the gas in the processchamber to the communicating corridor from the second supply means whilecontinuing the supply of the first gas and also continuing the exhaustby the exhaust means;

further increasing the insertion amount of the transport means in thecommunicating corridor, and when the leading edge of the transport meanspasses through the opening of the second supply means, opening thecommunicating corridor which is shut-off by said shutoff means whilecontinuing the supply of the first and second gases and also continuingthe exhaust by the exhaust means; and

further increasing the insertion amount of the transport means in thecommunicating corridor in such a state, thereby transporting the waferin the process chamber.

In this method, a plurality of exhaust means may be provided, and whichmay be disposed between the first supply means and second supply means.

The above object can be further achieved, according to the presentinvention, by provision of a wafer transport method including the stepsof:

preparing a semiconductor process equipment, the equipment including aprocess chamber for applying a surface treatment to a semiconductorwafer, a transport chamber for transporting the wafer to the processchamber, an interface means disposed between the process chamber and thetransport chamber, and a first transport means and a second transportmeans for transporting the wafer from the transport chamber to theprocess chamber by way of the interface means,

wherein a connecting means for connecting the first transport means tothe second transport means is provided at one end of the first transportmeans, a shutoff means for shut-off of the end portion of thecommunicating corridor on the side of the process chamber is provided onthe other end of the first transport means, a holding means for holdingthe wafer is provided on the second transport means on the side to beconnected to the first transport means, an interface means is providedwith a communicating corridor having the sectional shape beingsubstantially analogous to that of the first and second transport meansso that the wafer can be transported in the process chamber by insertingand pushing the first transport means and the second transport meansmounting the wafer from the side of the transport chamber, a gap betweenthe communicating corridor and the first and second transport meansinserted in the communicating corridor is kept to be small so that itforms a small conductance part, a first supply means is connected to thecommunicating corridor on the side near the transport chamber, a secondsupply means is connected to the communicating means on the side nearthe process chamber, and an exhaust means connected to the communicatingcorridor is provided between the first supply means and the secondsupply means;

inserting the first transport means in the communicating corridor andshutting-off the communicating corridor by the shutoff means, startingthe exhaust in the communicating corridor by the exhaust means, startingthe supply of a first gas being substantially the same in quality andkind as that in the transport chamber to the communicating corridor fromthe first supply means, and starting the supply of a second gas beingsubstantially the same in quality or kind as that in the process chamberto the communicating corridor from the second supply means;

inserting the second transport means mounting the wafer from the side ofthe transport chamber and connecting the second transport means to thefirst transport means by the connecting means; and

further increasing the insertion amount of the second transport means inthe communicating corridor in such a state thereby transporting thewafer in the process chamber.

In this method, preferably, the wafer is mounted on the second transportmeans in such a state that the first transport means is connected to thesecond transport means, and that the portion of the second transportmeans mounting the wafer is transported in the process chamber;

the first and second transport means are retreated and the end portionof the communicating corridor on the side of the process chamber isshut-off by the shutoff means; and

the second transport means is further retreated and the connectionbetween the first transport means and the second transport means isreleased, the supply of the second gas from the second supply means isstopped, and the exhaust by the exhaust means is stopped.

In this method, the supply means are independently provided on the inletside and the outlet side of the communicating corridor for connectingthe transport chamber to the process chamber. Of these supply means,from one provided on the inlet side, the first gas being the same inquality or kind as the gas supplied to the transport chamber is suppliedto the communicating corridor by way of a specified filter means at apressure slightly higher than that in the transport chamber. Meanwhile,from one provided on the outlet side, the second gas being the same inquality or kind as the gas supplied to the process chamber is suppliedto the communicating corridor by way of a specified filter means at apressure slightly higher than that of the process chamber. In this case,the first gas and second gas can be allowed to flow on the transportchamber side and time process chamber side respectively by way of theconductance part formed of the gap between the inner wall of timecommunicating corridor and the outer wall of the transport meansinserted in the communicating corridor, so that the gases containingcontaminated substances in the transport chamber and the process chamberare never entrapped in the gap formed between the inner wall of thecommunicating corridor and the outer wall of time transport means, thusmaking it possible to prevent the contamination of the substrate mountedon the transport means.

When the transport means is not inserted into the communicating corridorand the conductance part by the inner wall of the communicating corridorand the outer wall of the transport means is not formed, the shutoffmeans are all closed. As the transport means is inserted in thecommunicating corridor and the conductance part is positioned directlybefore the supply space of the supply means or the exhaust space of theexhaust means, the supply shutoff means of the supply means or theexhaust shutoff means of the exhaust means near the position of theconductance part is opened. Moreover, in the case that the transportmeans is drawn from the communicating corridor, it is drawn into thetransport chamber while the shutoff means of the supply means and theexhaust means are closed in the manner reversed to the above insertionprocedure.

According to the present invention, the small conductance part formed ofa gap between the inner wall of the communicating corridor and the outerwall of the transport means is sequentially moved in the communicatingcorridor, and the supply space and exhaust space are controlled to beshut-off or opened according to the movement of the conductance part, sothat it becomes possible to smoothly transport the substrate without anyentrapment of the gases between the transport chamber and the processchamber which are adjacent to each other and have different atmosphericconditions. As a result, the substrate is not contaminated, thus makingit possible to manufacture a semiconductor device having a highperformance at a high throughput.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of a semiconductor processequipment used in a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 2a to 2e are schematic sectional views of the semiconductorprocess equipment showing the procedure of the first embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIGS. 3a to 3b are partially schematic perspective views of thesemiconductor process equipment used in the first embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 4a is a plan view of a semiconductor process equipment used in asecond embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4b is a side view of the semiconductor process equipment used inthe second embodiment of the present invention; and

FIGS. 5a to 5e are schematic sectional views of a semiconductor processequipment showing the procedure of a third embodiment of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed with reference to FIG. 1, FIGS. 2a to 2e, and FIGS. 3a and 3b.In these figures, the same parts are designated at the same numerals.

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of a semiconductor processequipment used in the first embodiment of the present invention; FIGS.2a to 2e are schematic sectional views of the semiconductor processequipment showing the procedure of the first embodiment of the presentinvention; and FIGS. 3a and 3b are partially schematic perspective viewsof the semiconductor process equipment for explaining the firstembodiment of the present invention.

A semiconductor process equipment of the present invention mainlyincludes a transport chamber 1, a process chamber 2 and an interfacemeans 3.

The transport chamber 1 includes a transfer means 5 for mounting andtransporting a substrate 1, a drive means 6 for driving the transfermeans 5, and an atmosphere control means (not shown) for keeping theatmospheric condition in the transfer chamber 1. The process chamber 2includes a stage means 7 for mounting the substrate 4, a process means(not shown) for applying a specified process to the substrate 4, and anatmospheric control means (not shown) for keeping the atmosphericcondition in the process chamber 2. The interface means 3 includes acommunicating corridor 8 for connecting the transport chamber 1 to theprocess chamber 2. In this communicating corridor 8, supply means 11 and12 are provided near a communicating corridor inlet 9 and acommunicating corridor outlet 10 respectively, and one or more exhaustmeans 13 (one, in the figure) are provided between these supply means 11and 12.

The sectional shape of the passage surrounded by the internal wall ofthe communicating corridor is slightly larger than and analogous to thesectional shape formed by the outermost wall surface of the transfermeans 5. The gap between the opposed wall surfaces of the abovecommunicating means 5 and the transfer means 5 is set such that itbecomes 100 μm or less when the transfer means 5 is inserted in thecommunicating corridor 8. A small conductance part is thus formed ofthis gap. The gap may be set at a finite value, and preferably at avalue of 5 μm or more. Supply spaces 21 and 22 connected to the supplymeans, and an exhaust space 23 connected to the exhaust means which isdisposed at the position surrounded by the supply spaces, are providedin the inner wall of the communicating corridor 8 in such a manner as tosurround the transfer means 5. Supply shutoff means 14 and 16, and anexhaust shutoff means 15 are provided in the supply spaces 21 and 22 andthe exhaust space 23, respectively, each of which is disposed at such aposition that the internal capacity of the supply space or exhaust spacebetween the shutoff means and the communicating corridor 8 is made assmall as possible. A communicating corridor outlet shutoff means 17 isprovided at a communicating corridor outlet 10.

A gas supply system 18 for supplying a first gas which is the same inkind as the gas supplied to the transport chamber 1 is provided at theother end of the supply means 11 by way of a flow rate control means(not shown) and a filter means (not shown). Similarly, a gas supplysystem 19 for supplying a second gas which is the same in kind as thegas supplied to the process chamber 2 is provided at the other end ofthe supply means 12 by way of a flow rate control means (not shown) anda filter means (not shown). These gases may be suitably selectedaccording to the purpose of processing. The other end of the exhaustmeans 13 is connected to the exhaust system 20.

A substrate 4 is transferred from a load-lock chamber (not shown) to thetransfer means 5. In addition, the substrate 4 on the transfer means 5may be transported to another process chamber (not shown) by way of thetransport chamber 1. The connection between the transport chamber 1 andthe above load-lock chamber or another process chamber disposed aroundthe transport chamber 1 may be performed by use of the same mechanism asthe above interface means 3.

The procedure of transporting a substrate will be described below withreference to FIGS. 2a to 2e.

First, when the whole transfer means 5 is drawn in the transport chamber1, the supply shutoff means 14 and 16, the exhaust shutoff means 15, andthe communicating corridor outlet shutoff means 17 are all closed. Next,as the transfer means 5 is inserted from the transport chamber 1 intothe communicating Corridor inlet 9, a conductance part 30, which isconstituted of a gap of 100 μm or less between the inner wall surface ofthe communicating corridor 8 and the outer wall of the transfer means 5,is formed in the communicating corridor 8. When the conductance part 30is positioned at the communicating inlet 9, the supply shutoff means 14is opened to supply a first gas from the supply means 11 to the supplyspace 21 (see FIG. 2a). After the transfer means 5 is gradually movedand the leading edge thereof passes through the supply space 21, thatis, when the conductance part 31 is positioned at the inlet side of theexhaust means 13, the exhaust shutoff means 15 is opened to exhaust thegas in the exhaust space 23 and the communicating corridor 8. Inaddition, the volumes of the exhaust space 23 and the communicatingcorridor 8 are small, so that the exhaust can be sufficiently performedduring the transfer means 5 is moved at a constant speed (see FIG. 2b).When the transfer means 5 is further moved and the leading edge thereofpasses through the exhaust space 23, that is, when the conductance part32 is positioned directly before the supply means 12 on the outlet sideof the communicating corridor 8, the supply shutoff means 16 is openedto supply a second gas to the supply space 22 and the communicatingcorridor 8 (see FIG. 2c). After the transfer means is further moved andthe conductance part 33 passes through the supply space 22, thecommunicating corridor outlet shutoff means 17 is opened (see FIG. 2d).After that, the transfer means 5 is inserted in the process chamber 2,and the substrate 4 is replaced by the substrate already processed (notshown) directly over the stage means 6 using an load-unload means (notshown) (see FIG. 2e).

The substrate 4 already processed, which has been replaced in theprocess chamber 2, can be transported from the process chamber to thetransport chamber 1 according to the manner reversed to theabove-described procedure, wherein the substrate 4 shown in FIG. 2e issubstituted for the substrate already processed. After being unloaded tothe transport chamber 1, the substrate 4 already processed is insertedand transported into another process chamber as needed, or transportedinto the load-lock chamber.

FIGS. 3a and 3b are partially schematic perspective views of thesemiconductor process equipment. The right and upper side from theinterface means 3 is equivalent to-a transport chamber, and the left andlower side thereof is equivalent to a process chamber. The transfer of asubstrate to a load-unload means 40 in the process chamber will bedescribed with reference to this figure. To receive the substrate 4transported in the process chamber in the direction of the arrow 43 bymeans of the transfer means 5, the load-unload means 40 is lifted in thedirection of the arrow 42 and moved in the direction of the arrow 41(see FIG. 3a). After the substrate is mounted on the load-unload means40, the transfer means 5 is returned on the side of the transportchamber and the shutoff means 17 is closed (FIG. 3b). The substratemounted oil the load-unload means 40 is shifted on the stage means (notshown) in the process chamber, and is then subjected to a specifiedprocess. The substrate thus processed is transported to the transportchamber according to the above-described transport method.

As the first gas supplied into the transport chamber, nitrogen having ahigh purity of 99.99% or more is used. As the second gas supplied intothe process chamber, when it is used for etching of the substrate 4,fluorine based gas such as CF₄, CHF₃ or SF₆, chlorine based gas such asCCl₄, or a mixture gas of the above gas added with oxygen at a specifiedcomposition is used.

In another process chamber (not shown), there may be performed a drycleaning process using plasma gas, an ashing cleaning process byirradiation of shortwave light, a cleaning process by the supply ofchlorine gas and irradiation of shortwave light, a thin film depositionprocess using a chemically vaporized gas, a lithography process forreduction projection of a mask pattern using ultraviolet light, apatterning process for directly patterning in a specified atmosphere bycharged particle beams, a process for depositing a thin film in apattern by irradiating energy beams such as ultraviolet light orelectron beams in a pattern while supplying a specified reactive gas, ora process of diffusing atoms in a pattern. In addition, gases can bechanged and combined, and the process can be made while the processingstate of the surface of the substrate is measured. Moreover, anotherprocess may be used to measure and analyze the surface of the substrate.

Since the process chambers 2 capable of applying various processes aredisposed around the transport chamber 1 by way of the interface means 3of the present invention, a substrate can be smoothly transportedbetween the process chambers and then processed without anycontamination of each atmosphere and the substrate while the differentatmospheric conditions of the process chambers and the transport chamberare kept as they are. In particular, since the substrate can betransported without any change in the atmospheric conditions of theprocess chambers and the transport chamber, it becomes possible toeliminate the time required for the exhaust and pressure-setting forequalizing the atmospheric conditions of the chambers from and to whichthe substrate is transported. As a result, the throughput is improvedand the contamination of the substrate is reduced; accordingly, thesemiconductor device having a high performance can be manufactured at ahigh yield. Moreover, the reduction in the contamination of thesubstrate decreases the number of the cleaning process steps, whichreduces the number of the process steps of the semiconductor device,thereby further improving the throughput.

The substrate 4 is fixed on the transfer means 5 by an electrostaticchuck provided on the recessed bottom of the transfer means 5. A guidemeans (not shown) is used for moving the transfer means 5 while keepingthe micro-gap in the communicating corridor 8. The guide means mayinclude the known rolling guide mechanism, a magnetic floating guidemechanism of keeping the distance by the repulsion of the magneticforce, a supporting mechanism of controlling the posture of thetransport arm by a drive means, and the above mechanism combined with alink mechanism.

The exhaust means in the number of one or more are independentlyprovided with exhaust holes connected to exhaust pumps. The structureand the number of the exhaust means are not limited to those in thisembodiment, and they may be suitably selected according to the pressuredifference between adjacent chambers, the size of the conductance partformed of a gap, the exhaust capacity of the exhaust pump and the like.The shutoff means 17 in the communicating corridor 8 may be provided notonly at the communicating corridor outlet but also at the communicatingcorridor inlet.

The position of the transfer means 5 in the communicating corridor 8 canbe measured by a noncontact positioning sensor suitably provided in thecommunicating corridor 8 or a dividing scale provided on the drive means6. The timing of the opening/closing control for each shutoff means iseasily controlled on the basis of the positional information of thetransfer means 5 in the communicating corridor 8, and it can be alsocontrolled according to the output of a pressure gauge suitable providedin the communicating corridor 8.

A second embodiment of the present invention will be described withreference to FIGS. 4a and 4b.

FIG. 4a is a plan view of a multichamber processing equipment includingeight interface means each having the same structure as in the firstembodiment; and FIG. 4b is a side view of this equipment. Processchambers 2, 60, 62, 64, a load-lock chamber 50, process chambers 66, 68and 70 are connected to a transport chamber 1 including a transfer means5 having the rotating and linearly moving function by way of interfacemeans 3, 61, 63, 65, 53, 67, 69 and 71. One or a plurality of substratesare supplied from the outside into the load-lock chamber 50 by means ofa transport means (not shown) by way of a shutoff valve 51, and aremounted on a cassette 54. They wait to be transported to each processchamber by the transfer means 5. On the contrary, the substrates alreadyprocessed in process chambers may be laminated on the cassette 54 andtransported to the outside by way of the shutoff valve 51. Theatmospheric condition in the load-lock chamber 50 is the same as that inthe outside, and the substrates may be freely loaded from and unloadedto the outside. The substrate 4 transported in the load-lock chamber bythe transfer means 5 while keeping the atmospheric pressure in theload-lock chamber is, for example, replaced by a substrate 81 alreadyprocessed in the process chamber 2.

Various processes are performed in the process chambers 2, 60, 62, 64,66, 68 and 70: aluminum sputtering (process chamber 2); tungstensputtering (process chamber 60); degassing for removing the unnecessarygas component absorbed on the surface of the substrate (process chamber62): oxide film etching (process chamber 64); metal film etching(process chamber 66): ashing (process chamber 68); and etching (processchamber 70). The substrate can be of course transported between thetransport chamber and each process chamber while independently keepingthe atmospheric condition of each process chamber. Moreover, thesubstrate can be transported therebetween while independentlycontrolling the atmospheric condition of each process chamber.

A third embodiment of the present invention will be described withreference to FIGS. 5a to 5e.

When a transfer means 101 is returned from a communicating corridor ofan interface means 3 into a transport chamber 1 and is rotated in thetransport chamber 1, a process chamber 102 is shut-off from thecommunicating corridor by means of a communicating corridor shutoffmeans 100. The communicating corridor shutoff means 100 has a connectingmeans 106 for connecting to the transfer means 101 so that the corridorshutoff means 100 can be moved in interlock with the movement of thetransfer means 101 in the communicating corridor. The sectional shape ofthe communicating corridor shutoff means 100 in the communicatingcorridor is substantially the same as that of the transfer means, sothat the small conductance part is formed of a gap of 100 μm or lessbetween the inner wall of the communicating corridor and the outer wallof the communicating corridor shutoff means. The other end of thecommunicating corridor shutoff means 100 has a shutoff mechanism 103 forshutting-off the outlet of the communicating corridor. A guide means 105for accurately guiding the communicating corridor shutoff means 100 andthe transfer means 101 is provided in the communicating corridor. Inaddition, a space 104 into which the communicating corridor shutoffmeans 100 is escaped is provided in the process chamber 102.

The procedure of transporting the substrate 4 will be briefly describedbelow with reference to FIGS. 5a to 5e. In this example, the transfermeans 101 loads the substrate 4 from another process chamber (not shown)into the transport chamber, being rotated and positioned oppositely tothe process chamber 102, and transports the substrate into the processchamber 102. The communicating corridor shutoff means 100 is fed in thecommunicating corridor, and the communicating corridor outlet is closedby the shutoff mechanism 103. First, an exhaust means 13 is operated andthen supply means 11 and 12 are operated, so that the conductance partin the communicating corridor is kept to be divided into a region filledwith the atmospheric gas being the same as that in the transport chamber1 and a region filled with the atmospheric gas being the same as that inthe process chamber 102. Then, the transfer means 101 mounting thesubstrate 4 is moved in the direction of the arrow 111, and is connectedto the communicating corridor shutoff means 100, which is stopped in thecommunicating corridor, by way of the connecting means 106 (see FIG.5a). After that, the communicating corridor shutoff means 100 and thetransfer means 101 are moved in interlock with each other to the processchamber in the direction of the arrow 112, and the shutoff mechanism 103is gradually opened on the side of the process chamber (see FIG. 5b).They are further moved (FIG. 5c), and the substrate is put in theprocess chamber (FIG. 5d). The substrate 109 is unloaded from asubstrate mounting region 108 on the transfer means by a load-unloadmeans (not shown) in the process chamber, and is disposed on a stagemeans. The communicating corridor shutoff means 100 and the transfermeans 101 are then moved in interlock with each other in the directionof the arrow 113, and returned in the transport chamber (FIG. 5e). Inaddition, the returning into the transport chamber can be achieved inthe manner reversed to the above procedure, and after the connectingmeans is separated, the transfer means 101 is rotated in the transportchamber to transport the substrate into another process chamber. The gasflow in the conductance part within the communicating corridor isadjusted by closing the supply means 12 after the shut-off of thecommunicating corridor outlet by the shutoff mechanism 103, closing theexhaust means 13, and finally closing the supply means 11. In addition,only by operating the supply means 11, the contamination in thecommunicating corridor can be prevented. Moreover, the method using thecommunicating corridor shutoff means 100 is effective to extremelyshorten the time required for the exhaust and supply of the gas in thecommunicating corridor, and to reduce the amount of the gas used.

The functions and the number of the process chambers in theabove-described multichamber processing equipment are not limited tothose shown in this embodiment, and it is possible to provide processchambers for performing processes necessary for satisfying the functionsof a semiconductor device such as thin film deposition, cleaning, andformation of latent image. Moreover, the load-lock chamber forloading/unloading a substrate from or to the outside is apparentlyregarded as one process chamber. When the process is performed bysequentially changing the kind, composition, and pressure of gases inone process chamber, a supply gas supplied from a second supply meansupon transporting the substrate from the transport chamber to theprocess chamber is desirable to be the same in quality or kind as thegas under the initial process condition of gases sequentially changed inthe process chamber. In addition, the gases of the same kind mean, whena mixture gas is used for the surface treatment in the process chamber,the mixture gases having different mixture ratio.

The mixture gas used in this embodiment may include a mixture gas of CF₄and O₂, a mixture gas of CCl₄ and O₂, and a mixture gas of SF₆ and C₂ClF₅ used for etching of Si; a mixture gas of CF₄ and H₂ used foretching of SiO₂ ; and a mixture gas of BCl₃, Cl₂ and CF₄ used foretching of Al. The gases having the same quality mean the gases whichhave the same composition but are different in the supply flow rate andback pressure. The supply flow rate and the back pressure are finelycontrolled to be set at the most effective values upon processing in theprocess chamber and operating in the transport chamber.

As described above, according to the embodiments of the presentinvention, a substrate can be transported at a high throughput betweenrespective process chambers without any leak of the atmospheric gasbetween the mutual chambers and the generation of the contamination ofthe substrate while keeping the different atmospheric conditions of theprocess chambers. Moreover, after the insertion of the substrate, asemiconductor device having a high performance is manufactured, and fedonly by this method, so that a process environment facility such as ahigh clean room is not particularly required, and further the interfacemeans can be standardized and shared, thus making it possible to easilyprovide a semiconductor device with a high performance at a low cost.Therefore, according to the present invention, it becomes possible Loreduce the contamination of the semiconductor device generated by thetransporting of the wafer as compared with the conventional one.

What is claimed is:
 1. A wafer transport method, comprising the stepsof:preparing a process equipment, said equipment includinga processchamber; a transport chamber for transporting a wafer to said processchamber; a communicating corridor arranged between said process chamberand said transport chamber; and a transport mechanism for transportingsaid wafer; forming a conductance part in said communicating corridor byinserting a part of said transport mechanism into said communicatingcorridor; opening a shutoff valve for shutting off said process chamberand said communicating corridor; and passing a part of said transportmechanism through said communicating corridor.
 2. A wafer transportmethod, comprising the steps of:preparing a process equipment, saidequipment includinga process chamber; a transport chamber fortransporting a wafer to said process chamber; a communicating corridorarranged between said process chamber and said transport chamber; and ashutoff mechanism for shutting off the atmosphere in said transportchamber from that in said process chamber; transporting said wafer witha part of said shutoff mechanism.
 3. A wafer transport method,comprising the steps of:preparing a process equipment, said equipmentincludinga process chamber; a transport chamber for transporting a waferto said process chamber; a communicating corridor arranged between saidprocess chamber and said transport chamber; and a transport mechanismfor transporting said wafer; controlling supply and exhaust of the sameatmospheric gas as that in said process chamber into/from saidcommunicating corridor; thereafter, opening a shutoff valve for shuttingoff said process chamber and said communicating corridor; and passing apart of said transport mechanism through said communicating corridor. 4.A wafer transport method, comprising the steps of:preparing a processequipment, said equipment includinga process chamber; a transportchamber for transporting a wafer to said process chamber; acommunicating corridor arranged between said process chamber and saidtransport chamber; and a transport mechanism for transporting saidwafer; supplying and exhausting the same atmospheric gas as that in saidprocess chamber into/from said communicating corridor; preventingmixture of atmospheric gas said transport chamber and in said processchamber; opening a, shutoff valve for shutting off said process chamberand said communicating corridor; and passing a part of said transportmechanism through said communicating corridor.
 5. A transport method fortransporting a wafer from a first area containing first atmosphere to asecond area containing second atmosphere through an interface meansprovided between said first area and said second area, comprisinga stepfor shutting off a second opening of said interface means on the side ofsaid second area; a step for loading a wafer onto a transport means; astep for inserting said transport means onto which said wafer is loadedthrough a first opening of said interface means on the side of saidfirst area; a step for supplying first gas from the vicinity of saidfirst opening inside said interface means into said interface means; astep for exhausting inside said interface means; a step for supplyingsecond gas from the vicinity of said second opening inside saidinterface means into said interface means; a step for opening saidsecond opening; and a step for transporting said wafer to said secondarea.
 6. A transport method for transporting a substrate from a firstarea to which first pressure is applied to a second area to which secondpressure is applied through an interface means provided between saidfirst area and said second area, comprisinga step for transporting saidsubstrate to said first area; a step for supplying first gas to whichpressure higher than said first pressure is applied from the vicinity ofa first opening inside said interface means on the side of said firstarea into said interface means; a step for supplying second gas to whichpressure higher than said second pressure is applied from the vicinityof a second opening inside said interface means on the side of saidsecond area into said interface means; a step for exhausting inside saidinterface means, preventing said first gas from flowing into said secondarea and preventing said second gas from flowing into said first area;and a step for transporting said substrate to said second area.
 7. Aprocessing method provided with a transport step for transporting asemiconductor wafer from a transport chamber to a process chamberthrough an interface means and a step for processing said semiconductorwafer in said process chamber, wherein:said transport step furthercomprises:a step for shutting off a second opening of said interfacemeans on the side of said process chamber; a step for loading asemiconductor wafer onto a transport means; a step for inserting saidtransport means onto which said semiconductor wafer is loaded through afirst opening of said interface means on the side of said transportchamber; a step for supplying first gas from the vicinity of said firstopening inside said interface means into said interface means; a stepfor exhausting inside said interface means; a step for supplying secondgas from the vicinity of said second opening inside said interface meansinto said interface means; a step for opening said second opening; and astep for transporting said semiconductor wafer to said process chamber.8. A processing method according to claim 7, wherein said process stepis a step for sputtering a desired film on said semiconductor wafer. 9.A processing method according to claim 7, wherein said process step is astep for etching a desired film formed on said semiconductor wafer. 10.A processing method according to claim 7, wherein said process step is adegassing step for removing an unnecessary gas component included insaid semiconductor wafer.
 11. A processing method according to claim 7,wherein said process step is a step for plasma treatment of saidsemiconductor wafer.
 12. A processing method according to claim 7,wherein said process step is a step for patterning on said semiconductorwafer.
 13. A processing method according to claim 7, wherein saidprocess step is a step for analyzing the surface of said semiconductorwafer.
 14. A processing method provided with a transport step fortransporting a semiconductor wafer from a transport chamber to whichfirst pressure is applied to a process chamber to which second pressureis applied through an interface means and a process step for processingsaid semiconductor wafer in said process chamber, wherein:said transportstep further comprises:a step for transporting said semiconductor waferto said transport chamber; a step for supplying first gas to whichpressure higher than said first pressure is applied from the vicinity ofa first opening inside said interface means on the side of saidtransport chamber into said interface means; a step for supplying secondgas to which pressure higher than said second pressure is applied fromthe vicinity of a second opening inside said interface means on the sideof said process chamber into said interface means; a step for exhaustinginside said interface means, preventing said first gas from flowing intosaid process chamber and preventing said second gas from flowing intosaid transport chamber; and a step for transporting said semiconductorwafer to said process chamber.
 15. A processing method according toclaim 14, wherein said process step is a step for sputtering a desiredfilm on said semiconductor wafer.
 16. A processing method according toclaim 14, wherein said process step is a step for etching a desired filmformed on said semiconductor wafer.
 17. A processing method according toclaim 14, wherein said process step is a step a degassing step forremoving an unnecessary gas component in said semiconductor wafer.
 18. Aprocessing method according to claim 14, wherein said process step is astep for plasma treatment of said semiconductor wafer.
 19. A processingmethod according to claim 14, wherein said process step is a step forpatterning on said semiconductor wafer.
 20. A processing methodaccording to claim 14, wherein said process step is a step for analyzingthe surface of said semiconductor wafer.
 21. A processing method,comprising:a transport step for transporting a semiconductor wafer froma transport chamber to a first process chamber through a first interfacemeans; a step for processing said semiconductor wafer in said firstprocess chamber; a step for transporting said semiconductor wafer fromsaid first process chamber to said transport chamber through said firstinterface means; a step for transporting said semiconductor wafer fromsaid transport chamber to a second process chamber through a secondinterface means; and a step for processing said semiconductor wafer insaid second process chamber, wherein:the step for transporting saidsemiconductor wafer from said transport chamber to said first processchamber through said first interface means further comprises:a step forloading said semiconductor wafer onto a transport means; a step forinserting said transport means onto which said semiconductor wafer isloaded through a first opening of said first interface means on the sideof said transport chamber; a step for supplying first gas from thevicinity of said first opening inside said interface means into saidinterface means; a step for exhausting inside said first interfacemeans; a step for supplying second gas from the vicinity of said secondopening inside said first interface means into said first interfacemeans; a step for opening said second opening; and a step fortransporting said semiconductor wafer to said first process chamber. 22.A processing method, comprising:a transport step for transporting asemiconductor wafer from a transport chamber to which first pressure isapplied to a first process chamber which second pressure is appliedthrough a first interface means; a process step for processing saidsemiconductor wafer in said first process chamber; a step fortransporting said semiconductor wafer from said first process chamber tosaid transport chamber through said first interface means; a step fortransporting said semiconductor wafer from said transport chamber to asecond process chamber to which third pressure is applied through asecond interface means; and a process step for processing saidsemiconductor wafer in said second process chamber, wherein:thetransport step for transporting said semiconductor wafer from saidtransport chamber to which first pressure is applied to said firstprocess chamber to which second pressure is applied through said firstinterface means further comprises:a step for transporting saidsemiconductor wafer to said transport chamber; a step for supplyingfirst gas to which pressure higher than said first pressure is appliedfrom the vicinity of a first opening inside said interface means on theside of said transport chamber into said interface means; a step forsupplying second gas to which pressure higher than said second pressureis applied from the vicinity of said second opening inside saidinterface means on the side of said process chamber into said interfacemeans; a step for exhausting inside said interface means, preventingsaid first gas from flowing into said process chamber and preventingsaid second gas from flowing into said transport chamber; and a step fortransporting said semiconductor wafer to said first process chamber.